Wayne Rooney to hang English boots after World Cup

Wayne Rooney has revealed he is set to retire from international football after the World Cup in Russia in 2018.

Rooney has retained the England captaincy under new manager Sam Allardyce and will lead the team against Slovakia in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday.

But the Manchester United forward has confirmed the next World Cup will be his international farewell, insisting his “mind is made up” that it is the right time to quit.

“Obviously i’ve been selected and I made my mind up before the Euros whether we did well or not that I’d continue so over the last few weeks I’ve had nothing to think about in terms of England,” Rooney told a news conference on Tuesday.

“I’ve had a fantastic international career so far and played a lot of games and enjoyed every minute but at some point it’s going to come to an end.

“I’m not old, I’m 30, and come Russia that’ll be the time for me to say goodbye to international football.

“My mind is made up but it depends on Sam Allardyce, that’ll be my last tournament if selected. There have been highs and lows but I’m a proud man.

“It’s still two years away and I started playing professional football at 16 and international when I was 17 so it’ll have been 15 years, it’s a lot of years and I think that’ll be the right time to finish.”